Monthly Archives: February 2011

Ridley College students took to the stage to present the musical Hairspray last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Mandeville theatre was packed with enthusiastic audiences for all three evenings. The songs are so catchy, the costumes and sets are amazing and the performances will blow you away! The choreography and the music provided by the orchestra added to the whole theatre experience. It was so much fun to watch Tracy Turnblad played by Morgynne A. belt out the opening number – ‘Good Morning Baltimore’:

I felt as though I was taking a trip back to the 1960s with the ‘Nicest Kids in Town’, Gregorio A. played the perfect host of the Corny Collins Show :

Briony plays Penny Pingleton, Tracy’s best friend with hilarity! Her awkward dance moves and shyness make her a lovable character and Colin H. plays dreamboat Link Larkin with confidence.

The staging and ensemble cast make ‘I Can Hear the Bells’ a memorable performance:

Alanna K. transforms on stage to the hysterical, high strung and overbearing mother, Velma Von Tussle, the producer of the Corny Collins show and former ‘Miss Baltimore Crabs’:

Matt C. plays Edna Turnblad – you may remember John Travolta played this role in the most recent movie version of Hairspray. Matt was amazing as Tracy’s mother, yes I said mother, his comedic timing was right on!

‘Welcome to the 60’s’:

Shaneel N. plays Tracy’s new friend Seaweed with innate coolness.

‘Run and Tell That’:

Chinekwu O. as Motormouth Maybelle has an amazing voice, this song about the struggle for equality in the second act is very moving:

Wow! What a day for Ridley at the Holy Cross Southern Ontario robotics championship. With over 16 schools and 39 teams represented, Ridley’s three teams were competitive right out of the gate. The “Z” machine, an experimental trebuchet style robot was unexpectedly successful. It was built by Jacob Eschweiler and Steve Docherty as an experiment with pneumatics, coached by Mr. McCambley, and was undoubtedly the crowd favorite as driver John Hejzlar fired rings all over the field.

Tyler Porter drove his machine, programmed by newly minted programmer Igal Flegmann, and did well in the preliminary rounds, eventually being defeated by another Ridley team, alliance headed and piloted by our top driver, James Curtis. James’ machine was designed and built by Steve Docherty with help from Enoch Ho and Cheryl Wong. This machine won the amaze award for the most innovative robot at the contest! Taylor Petrick programmed this machine (and the Z machine) and won the programmer’s challenge trophy, scoring the best two runs of the day. He also drove in the driver skills competition, tying for the high score of the event.

Hayyan, Cheryl, Heather and Jacob did a great job of scouting for the team, finding out what our alliance partners and opponents were capable of before every one of the 24 preliminary matches our three teams were in.

In summary, there are three competitions in one: head-to-head team competition, a driver skills competition, and a programming skills competition. Today Ridley won the head to head championship, our best machine 1509B going undefeated 14-0; team 1509 finished second, and 1509Z finished 3rd. We also won the programming skills and tied for the top score in the driver skills challenge. It was an amazing day. Ridley was dominant. Go Blacks Go!!

The best school trip I have ever been on! No doubt about it, NAIMUN 48 was a fun filled 4-day weekend. Many students think model UN is just debating in a classroom, however, they are wrong. Our trip went beyond the classroom, as we learned about global issues and heard different opinions from students around the world. Mr. Beatty was our keen leader – showing us the ropes as we learned networking, debating and even travelling skills.

From the day we arrived at the Washington Hilton near DuPont Circle, it was obvious that this event was not small. With over 3000 students spread amongst the hotel, it was overwhelming, however as we met more students like us, the whole venue became more exciting.

During opening ceremonies, we sat amongst students from all walks of life, some of whom had been attending NAIMUN for years. There was 16 of us sitting together in the wave of delegates, it was daunting to think of what was to come; yet we all were still driven by the force of excitement.

During committee, all of Ridley’s delegates displayed their debating talents through prepared, thorough and thought provoking speeches. As Syria representatives, Ridley had a wide variety of topics to take on, including the very interesting, Middle East.

On the second day, we visited Capital Hill, where we sat in on a live American debate, and even saw the White House. And of course no White House sighting would be complete without seeing the king of the house, Obama’s dog, Bo!

On the third day, we had the pleasure of sitting amongst a fellow Canadian, Mark Kielburger, who was the keynote speaker for NAIMUN 48. His inspiring speech to change the world by taking action, not only provoked delegates to take a stand in committee, but also encouraged some to look into missionary trips.

On the last day, after the closing ceremonies of what turned out to be a successful model UN, the Ridley group decided to do some shopping in Georgetown and visit Georgetown University. Over 5 hours in the city, and the boys had enough of shopping, while the girls had only been in 3 stores. As for Mr. Beatty, you can never have enough dress shirts with high popped collars!

All in all, the trip was educational, exciting, relaxing, but most importantly, eye opening. It showed us that as young people we too could change the world by discussing potential issues and how we can solve them. And we even managed to get in our own national adventure in along the way. It was a great experience and will not be the last time that Ridley takes Washington by storm!

I was talking with Father Jason earlier, and he told me, quoting a scripture, that “there are two things in life. There are the things that we enjoy with all of our hearts, and the things we enjoy for a little while, but then move on.” As a group of 21 Ridley Students and chaperones travelled to Jamaica on behalf of Missionaries of the Poor, this quote held true. We left for Jamaica at 3:30 in the morning on Thursday February 17th to help out children at a local orphanage. We arrived in a gated monastery where we were staying with monks, or “brothers”. None of us really had any idea of what to expect, but from the moment we drove into the orphanage, everything became real. Walking into a dim-lit, gymnasium sized room, there are cribs lined up all along the room with aisles to walk down. We were given 5 minutes to take it all in before we started to diaper, change and feed the children.

Grade 12 Student Alanna K.

You could hear about these kids and you might see a couple of pictures, but nothing will do them justice until you see it for yourself. They have been abandoned by parents who either don’t care, or can’t afford to take care of them. All of them have either mental or physical disabilities. It’s impossible to describe in writing the feeling that you get when you see the children for the first time. I stopped at one particular crib that read Cavena. She might have been around 9 or 10 years old, but had the body of a toddler. Her thighs were smaller than my wrists. She suffers from cerebral palsy. Cavena will never be able to walk, or talk. She could only move her eyes to look up at me as I gently stroked her arm. The only thing she had to do to make me fall in love was smile, and that’s what she did.

This was the turning point of our trip. All of us started to realize that this is their reality. This is how some children have to live, and most of them won’t live long. They have absolutely nothing, yet they are so happy just to feel human contact.

The night before we left, Dr. Cowherd, one of our chaperones, asked us a question. He asked who was really served–even though we diapered, clothed, and fed all of them—we were the ones who received the service on this trip. The children may never remember us, but they will be with us forever.

As told by Jillian Robinson ’11 from Canada

Grade 12 Student Victoria P.

Last March my sister Britteny went to the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston Jamaica with her school. At the time I really didn’t know very much about the organization, but after listening to what my sister had to say, I knew instantly that spending time at the missionary was something I really wanted to do. After sharing my sister’s experiences with Father Jason and together learning more about the organization, it wasn’t long before he expressed interest in taking Ridley College to Jamaica. The Missionaries of the Poor (M.O.P.) is an international monastic order of Brothers dedicated to “Joyful Service with Christ on the Cross” to serve the poorest of the poor. The order was started in 1981 by Father Richard Ho Lung and has now grown to over 500 brothers around the world. Father Jason worked his magic and I contacted Brother Rameil at the Missionary. We started with fundraisers and successfully raised $7000. Our next step was to encourage students to sign up for the trip, which again was very successful. Father Jason spent much of his time making travel arrangements and talking to students and their families, for this we are all truly thankful.

Ms. Drake - Chaperone on Jamaican Mission Trip

Bethlehem Home was the first orphanage we visited. The children who reside here were either abandoned in the hospital or in some instances left on the Brothers doorstep. At the orientation we were told that the majority of the children were confined to cribs and were disabled but I really didn’t appreciate what that meant until I saw it for myself. Of the 62 children in Bethlehem, only 6 can walk, the other children spend the majority of their day in a crib. Many of the children are also blind, and most are so crippled that it is very difficult to clothe and bathe them. Feeding the children is also a challenge; it is difficult for them to open their mouths; they cannot sit up; their chewing reflexes are under developed making it difficult for the children to swallow. It is overwhelming to witness the work the Brothers do. They love and care for the children unconditionally and pray for them throughout the day. Through their love and prayer there is so much life in this home and for that the children are truly blessed.

The second orphanage we visited was the Beatitudes Home, a home for young boys who although are very challenged, are not confined to a crib. The journey to Mount Tabor was magnificent. We past many small neighbourhoods, markets, street vendors, grocery stores, gas stations, goats, chickens, stray dogs and lots of people.

The view at the top of Mount Tabor was breathtaking. The land and the original building, which is used for retreats, was donated by a wealthy local. Three other facilities have been added over the years. The church and Beatitudes Home was built by a group of people from Atlanta Georgia, and the brothers built the farm. Approximately 40 young boys live at the orphanage. Some have minimal disabilities while others are more severe. This home was very different from Bethlehem. It felt strange when they came to the gate to greet you. While we were there we spent time with the children and after they were fed we walked up to mountain to visit the farm. We saw 200 rabbits, 3 dairy cows, tons of pigs and chickens, goats and sheep. It was so much fun, I didn’t want to leave.

Victoria, Hailey and Alanna at MOP in Jamaica

On Sunday morning we went back to Bethlehem and helped get some of the children dressed for church. Regardless of your denomination, going to church in Jamaica is an experience, one that you will never forget. I am so glad that our Ridley family was able to participate in such an event. After mass it was time to say our goodbyes, which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

Grade 12 Student Victoria P.

I think I speak for all 21 of us, when I say that our Jamaican friends truly touched our hearts. We created a special relationship with the children. They may not be able to see or understand one word that you said, but they knew you were there. They felt your touch and heard your voice. You could just tell they were happy and content. I will always cherish my time with them and I will be back soon.

The overall standing in Level Two was quite impressive with the girls taking 4th, 3rd and 2nd place titles.These titles were held by Siena Venditelli (4th), Ashleigh Sternberg (3rs) and Morgan Mattern (2nd).

It was a great day, and the Ridley Tigers should feel very proud of their performances. The next competition is the CIS Rhythmic Championships that will be hosted by Toronto French School on Thursday February 26th.

Congratulations All Gymnasts!

Boys Basketball

Ridley’s U14 Boys basketball team took a positive step forward on Wednesday, February 16 in their journey toward the Division II championships. Ridley beat Crestwood Prep, 54 – 33 in Toronto. Although the U14 Tigers have a 12 – 1 record, this most recent game showed improved discipline and cooler attitudes in play. The officials held both teams very closely to the rule of man-to-man defense, calling a technical team foul against players who stayed in a defensive zone rather than playing within 10-feet of their checked opponent. This proved to be a good learning opportunity for these young players. Ridley’s players adapted and were able to hold Crestwood to fewer points than in previous meetings.

Evan Forstinger lead scoring, rebounds, and blocks, with 26 points, 24 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Alex Matovic had 14 points, David Jaber, Tim Sullivan, and Jordan Politi each had 5, 3, and 2 points respectively. The contribution of all players has improved and will hopefully help theTigers to continue their upswing in play to the finals. U14 Basket ball has two home exhibitiongames coming up against E. T. Clancy on February 23 and against St. Andrews College on March 2. TheDivision II Finals Championship game will be held at Ridley College on March 5. Please come out and support the U14 Basketball team at these upcoming games.

Girls Volleyball
The Under 14 Girls Volleyball team has been working hard since the beginning of the season and is coming together as a team. The girls started February off with two wins.

Their most recent win was a 3-0 shut out against St. John’s Kilmarnock. Excellent playing by all with an exceptional succession of serves by Sophia Seguin (say that 10 times fast). SJK were fighting hard for the second win, however, Ridley came out on top with a 25-21 victory. In the third game, Tamara Butera dominated the serves with 6 in a row and Rachel Kulhanek pulled off some fancy moves earning some more points. Final score: 28-26.

Peace descended as the howling dogs were given the command to go, the sleds started sliding through the snow, and the dogs became entirely quiet, focussed purely on running. It was an almost spiritual calmness. This was my Algonquin Adventure!

It was lovely getting to know the dogs in my sled-team, they all seemed to have distinct personalities as well as boundless energy. Our guides on the trip, Adam and Andrew, knew every one of the fifty or so dogs by sight. Not only were they were our guides extremely friendly, but they were also superbly knowledgeable and showed those of us who had never camped in the Canadian outdoors how to collect water from frozen rivers, how to pick trees to fell for wood and how to light a camp fire. Everyone pitched in to make our camps run: the facilities were basic and we used every moment of daylight. When all the chores were done and dinner eaten, we sat in the warm tent, chatting and sharing jokes for hours on end. We built up a lovely sense of camaraderie over the course of the trip.

We spent the final two days snowshoeing, which was a totally different experience. With no dogs to feed or care for in the evenings, we had more free time. The snowshoeing itself, however, was more physically demanding than the dogsledding. This meant that we had to be careful about getting too hot and sweating, which, when we stopped, made us feel extremely cold very quickly. The slower pace of the snowshoeing allowed us to see more of the forest, which I liked. We saw several sets of moose tracks, but the beast himself remained illusive.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the dogsledding trip. It was demanding, but the experiences of sledding, of camping and of snowshoeing were all fantastic.

Mr. “Bio” Bob Malyk’s class was converted into CSI: Ridley College recently as students in the Grade 12 Advanced Placement Biology class collected DNA from “suspects” and compared it to DNA found at a “crime scene”. It was a lesson in forensic science and the students found out there is a lot more to crime scene investigating than the show leads on. Check out the video from class: